I'm pretty sure that quite a lot of you have heard about the Roomba, that tiny, circular robot whose main (and only) task is to clean up its owner house. However, it seems that this concept has become successful enough for other companies to pick it up well, one of the latest being Samsung, which unveiled at IFA 2009 the Furot II. 

According to the Korean company, the Furot II is a fully automated robot vacuum cleaner that offers a very good pick-up performance, since it comes equipped with a suction pump for dust, a rotating brush bar, as well as double-side brushes for extending the cleaning width and improving pick-up, at the same time keeping its width down to a very small size (just 10 cm high). Plus, the built-in HEPA 11 filter will take care of removing micro-particles, such as dust and other allergens.

However, what really makes the Furot II stand out from a crowd of similar “critters” is the fact that it features a revolutionary navigation system, built-in camera and eight environment sensors, allowing it to move in complete autonomy between target rooms and over carpets and rugs while avoiding furniture and stairs.

Possessing the ability to see where it is going and think about the best possible route, this robot is also able to remember where it has been and what it still has to clean. Practically, in less Sci-Fi terms, this device makes very good use of its sensors and camera in order to track its position throughout the house and be “aware” of its whereabouts at any given moment.

The built-in battery grants it a functioning autonomy of around 90 minutes, but before that time is up, the robot will start moving on its own to the charge base, so that it won't run out of power. Then, after the recharging process is complete, it will go back and start cleaning again exactly where it left off.

Plus, should the user want to control the Furot II themselves, they will be able to easily do so via the wireless remote control included in the sales package.

Sadly, there's no hint when this Korean Roomba makes it to the stores, but we hope that it's sooner rather than later, because this thing might actually bring some much wanted competition onto the market.


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